Guide Report – Fantastic Game Drives With Ralph and Brian

Greetings from Arusha, Tanzania. This is ADS guide David Chando with my most recent safari report. My safari this time was with two persons named Ralph and Brian from La Jolla, California. I picked up my guests on January 16, 2015 from the central serengeti airstrip when they first arrived on regional airlines in the mid morning. We enjoyed an amazing safari adventure over the next 10 nights with some very impressive wildlife sightings including the famous wildebeest migration during the calving season. We were lucky to see wildebeest being born and lion cubs among many other highlights including a family of cheetahs, dozens of lions and hyenas, large herds of elephants and giraffes and the beautiful scenery of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro ecosystems during the green season.

Our safari focused on the four main game viewing areas during this time of year including the central serengeti, east serengeti, south serengeti and ngorongoro crater. We had a lovely mix of tented camps and lodges with 2 nights at Four Seasons Lodge in the central serengeti, 3 nights at Lake Masek Camp in the south serengeti, 3 nights at Kusini Camp in the southwest serengeti and 2 nights at the Crater Lodge on the rim of the ngorongoro caldera. Below are some of the pictures I would like to share with you.

Elephants coming very close to our vehicle in the Central Serengeti.

A beautiful lion pride in the southwest serengeti in the Kusini area resting on what we call Simba Kopjes.

Another picture of the lion pride. One of the lions was heading towards the wildebeest and zebra.

Zebras at one of my favorite places in the south serengeti called Hidden Valley. This is a beautiful area very far from other roads and other tourists. There are usually some watering holes here that attract game during the green season.

Giraffes forming a circle around an acacia tree to browse at the tender leaves.

Wow! This part of the Serengeti used to be a farming area! The picture was taken in Kusini. This is a sunflower, which is one of the cash crops of the Sukuma people south of lake victoria. I assume the seed came from an elephant by chance who brought the seed inside Serengeti.

Baby wildebeest in the Kusini area of the South Serengeti.

Elephants marching down one of the main roads in the Seronera area of the Central Serengeti.

Tree climbing lions in the Seonera Valley, Central Serengeti.

Wildebeest migration in the Ndutu area of the South Serengeti.

Zebras at the beautiful Lake Ndutu, South Serengeti.

Mother cheetah with 3 large cubs in the Ndutu area of South Serengeti.

Black-backed jackals in the East Serengeti.

Elephants in the Masek Woodlands, South Serengeti.

Spotted hyenas hunting wildebeest.

Young male lion in the Seonera Valley of Central Serengeti.

We watched this wildebeest being born in the Ngorongoro Crater – WOW!

Thanks,

David Chando
ADS Driver-Guide

  1. Nice photos and lucky to see a birth. We are looking forward to what will be our third safari with ADS & Wilfred Fue next February.

    1. David- Nice to see your post. Our group still marvels over what a wonderful trip we had back in 2006 with you and Everast as our guides. We hope to return some day!
      Wendy – Como Zoo, Minnesota, USA

  2. David–you are absolutely correct. it exceeded our expectations (except for my left wrist fracture on the last day). I still marvel at your ability to spot game and other events from miles away. This was a trip of a lifetime. The game drives were magnificent and the accomodations excellent. I’ll not forget being in the middle of a wildebeast migration and listening to that “migration symphony”(David’s term). Ralph Dilley

  3. David- It’s great to see and hear from you again after our May 2010 visit. David did an excellent job for us and provided us with the most memorable and rewarding of our many vacation trips.
    Fred & Beverly, Denver, Colorado